Legal Definitions - BSD-style license

A BSD-style license refers to a category of permissive free software licenses that originated with the Berkeley Software Distribution operating system.

These licenses are known for being very flexible and allowing users significant freedom. They permit individuals and organizations to freely use, modify, and redistribute software, even for commercial purposes, with minimal restrictions. The primary requirements typically involve retaining the original copyright notice and the license text itself within any distributed versions of the software. Unlike "copyleft" licenses, BSD-style licenses do not require derivative works (modified versions) to be distributed under the same open-source license; developers can incorporate BSD-licensed code into proprietary software without having to open-source their entire project.

• Example 1: Integrating a Networking Library into a Proprietary Mobile App

  Imagine a startup company developing a new, proprietary mobile application. To speed up development, they decide to use an existing open-source networking library that is distributed under a BSD-style license. This choice allows the startup to integrate the library directly into their commercial app, modify it if necessary to fit their specific needs, and distribute their app through app stores without being forced to make their entire application's source code publicly available. They only need to ensure that the original copyright notice and the BSD-style license text for the networking library are included somewhere within their app's documentation or "about" section.

  This illustrates how a BSD-style license enables commercial entities to leverage open-source components while maintaining the proprietary nature of their own product, fulfilling only the minimal attribution requirements.

• Example 2: Using a Data Parsing Module in an Enterprise Software System

  A large financial institution is building a complex internal enterprise software system for data analysis. They find a highly efficient data parsing module available under a BSD-style license. The institution's developers can incorporate this module into their proprietary system, customize it to handle their specific data formats, and deploy it across their organization. They are not obligated to release their entire enterprise system as open source. Instead, they simply ensure that the original license and copyright information for the data parsing module are maintained within their internal documentation or software manifests.

  This demonstrates the utility of BSD-style licenses for large organizations that want to use and adapt open-source tools for internal, proprietary applications without the burden of broader open-source compliance for their entire system.

• Example 3: An Independent Developer Releasing a Utility Library

  An independent software developer creates a new, highly useful utility library for a popular programming language. Wanting to maximize its adoption and allow it to be used in as many projects as possible, including commercial ones, the developer chooses to release it under a BSD-style license. This decision means that other developers, whether working on personal projects, open-source initiatives, or commercial products, can freely download, use, modify, and redistribute the library. They only need to ensure that the original developer's copyright and the license terms are preserved in their own projects.

  This highlights how a BSD-style license fosters widespread adoption and integration of software by offering maximum flexibility to users, making it an attractive choice for developers who prioritize broad utility over strict copyleft requirements.